Chevy Traverse Stabilitrak/Traction Control problems

Comments

One has to wonder when will the recalls and lawsuits regarding stabilitrak/reduced engine power issues hit GM. This problem affects many of their models over at least the past five years. With the focus on GM now regarding the failed ignition switches in the Cobalt models, it is just a matter of time before GM gets in more hot water with this problem. How many people have been injured (or God forbid killed) because of their vehicles stalling or dropping speed suddenly because of this failure?

I just had the same problem last night with my 2012 Traverse all of the sudden. So, I searched and I found this subject on this forum and many, many other forums. I have spent the last few hours reading all of these posts on here and on other sites. Here is what I have gotten out of it:

This exact problem has been going on for many years and with many Chevy models, not just the Traverse. Many consumers have spent hundreds and thousands of dollars taking their vehicle to the dealerships several times to have several things done or replaced...and they are still having this problem. Some thought it was solved by replacing the Throttle Body only to have the problem come back after some time. GM has a TSB #11273 for this problem that only includes some years, not 2012 through current, yet I see reports of this problem being reported for brand new 2014's. GM is playing stupid and avoiding this like the plague, hoping that we will all write our little posts about the same issue, read it, not find an answer, just feel like we're “not alone”, shrug our shoulders, and accept the fact that we are screwed.

First of all, if you are the owner of a vehicle that is less than a year old, you are in a much better place. Check your state's Lemon Law. You would be very wise to go to the dealership and let them replace this and that as many times as needed to comply with the law. Do make sure that your visits are documented proving that you were there for the same reason each time and that each visit is counted separately showing that GM failed to fix the same problem over and over. The Lemon Law will allow you to get out of that vehicle and recover the costs and get into something hopefully better and safer. If you are like some of the rest of us who haven't had this defect show up until after the vehicle is over a year old...we can either sit here like a bunch of modern day sheep and say “oh well, I guess I have to accept what is being fed to me” or we can do what previous generations have done and say “No. I don't accept this. As a consumer, I demand to be treated fairly.” This would mean actually taking action. Do you know that after I read all of these posts all over the internet, I went to the website for the NHTSA, http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/, and I see ONE, only ONE mention of this issue from a consumer. The NHTSA is supposedly responsible for launching investigations based on numbers of complaints. I don't know if it will work, but shouldn't we try? GM is reading these forums and laughing all the way to the bank while we can't afford to keep our vehicles on the road due to a defect that GM needs to take responsibility for. If you think writing in this forum is somehow going to force GM to do the right thing, it isn't.

As just another middle class person, that funded GM's bailout along with the rest of you, I'm asking you to take a moment to get your complaint on the NHTSA website and other sites that might actually make a difference. The numbers matter. We have to get this on record and seen by the right people so that GM can't deny their knowledge of it.

I know I can't afford to throw thousands of dollars away on this Traverse just to go through the motions and still have a defective vehicle. It sickens me to read that so many of you have had to do it, not to mention the danger we are putting ourselves in when we drive ourselves and loved ones around with this going on. Isn't the danger and money worth taking action?

Interested on anyone's thoughts in the is post who have had the stabilitrak/reduced power error to see if you think it could have anything to do with the ignition switch recalls??? All of us have experienced this reduced power without warning while driving, and each one of us was extremely lucky not to have been killed in what happened in our cases. Makes you wonder if it should include the Traverse in the recalls??? Just wondering everyone's thoughts are. Thanks!!!

I have a 2009 Traverse and in just a little over a week have had the car in the shop 3 times. They have replaced 2 different sensors. 1st being what they said told the traction control which direction my car was going, the second how much car was "tilting or tipping" got it back on Friday, Just to have to drop it off again late Saturday morning.. They scanned it to tell me it was the same codes coming up. PLEASE explain to me why they can't fix this. I have 2 children and an now not comfortable driving my car. Everything I read shows this is a know problem. So, Fix it. When I called to tell them I was bringing it back in I spoke with the same person who has been handling this all along. I told he this needs to get fixed. And his answer to me was something along the lines of I know it is upsetting but we are Trying to fix it. Well, DON'T try fix it. And we bought 2 cars from this place. Geez..

I wish I would have found this forum before buying a used 2011 Traverse 3 days ago with 54800 miles on it roughly 300 miles later I encountered the Stabilitrak/Traction Control warnings and loss of power. I was wondering if this is covered under GM 5year or 100,000 mile warranty of drivetrain and what a sure fix is since some say throttle body or sensors. I don't want to risk the lives of my 2yr old and 4week old baby, does anybody have any input or opinions??

We are sorry to hear that you are experiencing concerns with the Stabilitrack/Traction control warnings and loss of power in your 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. We would be happy to look further into this for you and contact your dealership on your behalf. Please send email to socialmedia@gm.com Attn:Andraya with your full contact information, VIN, mileage and preferred dealership. We look forward to assisting you further!

Ugh!!! I'm so frustrated I too, have this same problem with my 2011 Traverse!!! I am so afraid to drive my car with my 5 children, it did this to me 4 times already on the freeway, and everytime I take it to the dealership they say nothing shows up for codes so they just end up resetting it and that it should be "nothing" but "if it should do it again then it looks as if its going to be the throttle" this last time I was on the left hand lane when it happened and had to cross 3 lanes to get to safe spot to pull over on the freeway. It's not fair that GM is doing nothing to fix this problem when its obvious its going on, and I have worked to hard to pay for this car and I was sooo proud of my choice, NOW I just wish I had never even looked at Chevy for my car needs, I will never buy another chevy ever again!!!!! I will be trading this thing in, but it sure sucks to have to start all over again.

@smoreno1 said:
Ugh!!! I'm so frustrated I too, have this same problem with my 2011 Traverse!!! I am so afraid to drive my car with my 5 children, it did this to me 4 times already on the freeway, and everytime I take it to the dealership they say nothing shows up for codes so they just end up resetting it and that it should be "nothing" but "if it should do it again then it looks as if its going to be the throttle" this last time I was on the left hand lane when it happened and had to cross 3 lanes to get to safe spot to pull over on the freeway. It's not fair that GM is doing nothing to fix this problem when its obvious its going on, and I have worked to hard to pay for this car and I was sooo proud of my choice, NOW I just wish I had never even looked at Chevy for my car needs, I will never buy another chevy ever again!!!!! I will be trading this thing in, but it sure sucks to have to start all over again.

Hello smoreno1,

We recognize your frustration and we're sorry to hear that you feel your family is at risk driving your Chevrolet Traverse. If there is anything we can do to try and assist with your concerns we are happy to do so. Please private message us your VIN, full contact information, mileage and dealership name if interested.

We are truly sorry to hear of the concerns you are experiencing with your 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. I see you mentioned that your vehicle is currently at the dealership getting a new transmission control module. Please keep us updated on the progress of repairs for your concerns. If any additional assistance is needed, you are welcome to reach out to us via email at socialmedia@gm.com Attn:Andraya.

Hi, I see I have the same issues as everyone else. Took my 2012 Traverse to the dealer this week with Stabilitrak/loss of power issues(59,000). Got 2 sensors changed. Picked up the vehicle and within 2 hours the engine light was back on! Dealer called to check on my repair and I told them the light was back on, dropped it off again last night. We will see what they say today. I told them 2 times now that I have researched and found this Traverse forum about the issues with these vehicles. They just look at me like I am crazy and they act like they know nothing about it. There is no way my vehicle is the only one they have encountered with this issue. They know there is a problem and so does GM and GM chooses to do nothing about it. Best part is when I talked to them they tried to charge me $600 for the replacement of the sensors but when my husband talked to them they were covered under the warranty and I only had to pay $100.00 deductible. I guess we will see what they are going to try and charge me today. Very frustrated and ready to give up on American made products.

Well the dealer just called me and said it is a bad catilac converter. I asked if it was covered and they said yes. So hears hoping when the part comes in on monday that it is still a warranty free charge.

We are sorry to hear you feel this way based on your current situation. I understand how frustrating it is to have to return to the dealership for repairs. Please keep us posted once you hear back from your dealership! If any assistance is needed on our end, please send us via email at socialmedia@gm.com with your contact information and VIN.

Hello everyone-I guess you're welcoming another GM vehicle owner and taxpayer who is having problems with the stabilitrak/traction control on a 2011 Chevy Traverse. As I was driving home yesterday (luckily I wasn't on the highway and was on a local road near my home-if it had been a few days earlier, my family and were on a number of highways in NY, NJ, & Pennsylvania while on vacation-ugh the thoughts of what could have happened frighten me to my core!) my Traverse lost power as I was turning into our development. Luckily for me I was driving at a high rate of speed and I was able to maintain control of the vehicle and get it pulled over to the side of the road. I got a message on my DIC (Diver Information Console) that said "reduced engine power" and "service stabilitrak/traction control off". I'm so happy that my wife or my my son (who's just got his permit and is learning to drive) weren't behind the wheels because they would have panicked! I called AAA and the service tech came out and checked battery & fuel pump because they said it seemed like car wasn't getting fuel, but all was okay. Then they saw the message too, and then ran a computer check with their handheld device that showed 18 error codes! Mind you my vehicle had just passed NY State inspection at the dealership where I purchased it 1 day before we left for vacation which was on July 30th! Why in the hell wasn't any of this detected then?? Anyways I called my own personal trusted mechanic who has his own shop and formerly worked for Firestone (but left because he could not stand how they consistently shafted people) but he was away on vacation. I then called the GM dealership service department at a local dealer who quickly told me that there was a possibility that my vehicle may get looked at next Tuesday because they are super booked, but even that couldn't be guaranteed. So I had to go with the recommendation of the AAA service tech and had the car towed to another reputable local shop. Then we had a nightmare of a car rental agency not wanting to honor the confirmed reservation that our AAA travel agent had already put into their system-that finally was taking care of but that another cost for us on top of anything else we will have to shell out! In the meantime I got on the internet and began to research the stabilitrak service message that showed up and that led me to a large number of sites (chevroletforum.com, traverseforum.com, lemonlaw.com) and eventually to this one. When I read through all of the complaints I began to panic because my vehicle is several years old (I purchased it used with about 10K miles on it) my 3 yr bumper to bumper was up, and that our income was cut in half because my wife is the only one bringing in a steady income because as a teacher I don't have income over the summer other than from odd jobs&. I saw suggestions to contact both GM & Chevy and site the fact that there is quite a documented history of customers having serious issues with this vehicle malfunction, and I did so. After being on the phone for quite awhile and having to firm restate everything over several times I was able to convince Chevy to give me a case file #, and they agreed cover the fee to have my vehicle towed from the facility where it was initially towed to a local GM dealership where they say they will cover the first hour of diagnostic testing, as well as the cost for rental vehicle while the car is being repaired. I pray that this matter is quickly resolved and that the problem is correctly diagnosed and the repair is correct. I will keep everyone posted.
Totally unhappy GM/Chevy customer and taxpayer who helped to bail out GM.

I have a 2012 Traverse LTZ with 20,000 miles. I bought it new in 4/2013
It is at the dealer now with the same problem.
I get a message Traction Control off/Traction Control on, Loss of power and Door chimes dinging, Check engine light flashing for about 10 seconds. The last time I almost got hit by a truck on the Interstate. I am so frustrated, It does it about once a month. The dealer says no error codes and cant find anything wrong.
The A/C is also hissing and blowing smoke out the defrost but they can't duplicate that problem either.

We'd like to gather your information so we can document your concerns within our database. Can you please private message us your VIN, dealership name and full contact information? We're sorry the dealership has been unable to duplicate this issue. Feel free to also send us an email at socialmedia@gm.com referencing your screen name.

Same problem here. Nearly rear ended on the highway after losing power. Had my 2011 traverse towed to the dealership. They said debris was found on a wheel sensor, cleaned all sensors, and was good to go. Picked it up and didn't even make it 1/4 mile down the road before the "service stabilitrak/service traction control" message came back on. Now they're saying they don't know whats causing it, but theres a soft spot on the wheel hub and it needs to be replaced and are hoping that will fix it.... Hoping. I need more than hope.... at this point, I don't feel safe putting my family in this vehicle.

@kheb511 said:
Same problem here. Nearly rear ended on the highway after losing power. Had my 2011 traverse towed to the dealership. They said debris was found on a wheel sensor, cleaned all sensors, and was good to go. Picked it up and didn't even make it 1/4 mile down the road before the "service stabilitrak/service traction control" message came back on. Now they're saying they don't know whats causing it, but theres a soft spot on the wheel hub and it needs to be replaced and are hoping that will fix it.... Hoping. I need more than hope.... at this point, I don't feel safe putting my family in this vehicle.

Hello kheb511,

I am sorry that you've been experiencing these concerns with your vehicle. We'd like the opportunity to look further into this and reach out to your deaelrship on your behalf. If you'd like, you can reach out to us via email at socialmedia@gm.com with Attn:Andraya in the subject line to discuss this further.

I had the exact same thing happen to me four times since Feb. 2014. My 2011 Traverse which was bought with 25 miles on it is now in the shop again. This is the 4th time. I am contacting GM tomorrow and the first time this happened the truck only had 34,000 miles. I think the lemon law comes into play here now matter what anyone is saying. There is a serious issue here.

State lemon laws are weird and too much time may have passed. But you could always make a failure of warranty type claim and a lemon lawyer could advise you on that.

But I'd hold those cards under the table for a while. Since you've complained about this issue three times before (and during the warranty period I assume), GM may indeed do something for you. I'm assuming you're technically out of warranty now for this issue?

Hello stffanimal,
Our sincerest apologies that you've had to return to the dealership for service with no resolve. Please let us know if we can further investigate this matter and work towards a resolution with your dealership. We're available via private message or email at socialmedia@gm.com. With all inquiries, please include VIN, full contact information, exact mileage and preferred service center.

Thank you

Amber N.

GM Customer Care

@stffanimal said:
I had the exact same thing happen to me four times since Feb. 2014. My 2011 Traverse which was bought with 25 miles on it is now in the shop again. This is the 4th time. I am contacting GM tomorrow and the first time this happened the truck only had 34,000 miles. I think the lemon law comes into play here now matter what anyone is saying. There is a serious issue here.

Yesterday, I was nearly killed when my 2014 Chevy Traverse LOST All Engine power. No warnings, no sounds, lights went off for "tracktion control" while the engine lost power. I nearly escaped an accident on a busy NJ highway. I am in shock. Isn't this what happened with these cars losing engine power???

My Traverse was purchased in January. After I drove it off the lot, we had the light go off for "Traction control." They "repaired" the matter, claiming it was a computer chip error. I should have returned it back then.

Months later, same issue- and I was almost killed yesterday. The car is now at a Chevy dealer. I will not put my young children back in this death trap. I want my money back. I am very angry. I work hard for my money and drove a car for 10 years without one incident. My new traverse, almost killed me and my spouse yesterday. I filed a complaint with the National highway safety board. Everyone file a complaint. This is a death trap. Go to safercar.gov Thanks for this forum!

WOW! I am amazed. How can GM not see there is a problem here? I have taken my 2011 Chevy Traverse in multiple times in the past 2 years to solve the Stabilitrak issue. First they replaced the throttle body. After 2 weeks the warning lights went off again. I was told it was the brake sensors. After replacing those it only took 2 days for the warning to reappear. It was clear upon my return to the dealership the service department was at a loss. The service manager with no other options then had the Stabilitrak rewired. Since then the Stabilitrak warning light has gone off maybe 10 times. I have learned to just pull the car over and turn the car off. The Stabilitrak resets. This of course is pretty dangerous when you are on the highway. I am convinced it will take several innocent people to die before GM responds. Just an FYI- The hazard light switch in on the center console. Good luck!

WOW! I am amazed. How can GM not see there is a problem here? I have taken my 2011 Chevy Traverse in multiple times in the past 2 years to solve the Stabilitrak issue. First they replaced the throttle body. After 2 weeks the warning lights went off again. I was told it was the brake sensors. After replacing those it only took 2 days for the warning to reappear. It was clear upon my return to the dealership the service department was at a loss. The service manager with no other options then had the Stabilitrak rewired. Since then the Stabilitrak warning light has gone off maybe 10 times. I have learned to just pull the car over and turn the car off. The Stabilitrak resets. This of course is pretty dangerous when you are on the highway. I am convinced it will take several innocent people to die before GM responds. Just an FYI- The hazard light switch in on the center console. Good luck!

Hi gunduke,

We're very sorry to hear you've had to deal with intermittent Stabilitrak issues with your Chevy Traverse. We understand how this has been both inconvenient and frustrating and we do apologize. If you'd like to set up a formal service request, we'll gladly document your concerns within our database. Please private message us your VIN, mileage, contact information and dealership name if interested. We're also available via email at socialmedia@gm.com.

I purchased a brand new 2014 Equinox almost 3 months ago. The car now has just 2,500 miles on it. Today, the engine lost power and I received the Stabilitrak warning, along with the ABS warning and the service engine light. While I was fortunate to not be on the interstate THIS time, I was still traveling down a very busy road and struggled to get over when the car lost power. THIS IS ABSURD. I called the dealer - Don Moore Chevrolet in Owensboro, KY - to get the car in. The person I spoke with immediately brushed this off as, and I quote, "something that probably resolved itself". While I shouldn't speak ahead of my appointment, this comment hasn't left me feeling very confident. This car was purchased NEW and there should be nothing to resolve at 2,500 miles. I am so disappointed and frustrated already. I made the decision to pay $25K for a new car to avoid the concerns with driving an unsafe car. And now, after reading these posts, it seems as though I have just purchased a very expensive death trap. The dealer will look at the car on Thursday and I'll update with the findings. I refuse to accept that the matter "resolved itself." I frequently travel on the interstate and this is a VERY SERIOUS issue, which I am concerned will happen when traveling at higher rates of speed and in much heavier traffic. I was fortunate enough today that I was able to get off the road when the car lost power at 50-55MPH.